The crucial role of circular waste management systems in cutting waste leakage into aquatic environments

Waste leakage has become a major global concern owing to the negative impacts on aquatic ecosystems and human health. We combine spatial analysis with the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways to project future waste leakage under current conditions and develop mitigation strategies up to 2040. Here we show that the majority (70%) of potential leakage of municipal solid waste into aquatic environments occurs in China, South Asia, Africa, and India. We show the need for the adoption of active mitigation strategies, in particular circular waste management systems, that could stop waste from entering the aquatic ecosystems in the first place. However, even in a scenario representing a sustainable world in which technical, social, and financial barriers are overcome and public awareness and participation to rapidly increase waste collection rates, reduce, reuse and recycling waste exist, it would be impossible to entirely eliminate waste leakage before 2030, failing to meet the waste-related Sustainable Development Goals.


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By contrasting baseline with mitigation scenarios, our study combines spatial analysis with the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways storylines to develop plausible future waste leakage mitigation strategies up to 2040 resulting from the implementation of circular MSW management systems.
The selection of the databases used in this study are based on the representativeness and recognition at a global level.For example, the SSPs are an important input for the recent and ongoing IPCC Assessment Reports and are central to the climate research community, GHSL-Global Human Settlement Layer Population Count and GHSL-Global Human Settlement Layer Degree of Urbanisation from JRC are globally recognized as a good representation of population and population distribution.The administrative boundaries (GAUL) from FAO compiles and disseminates the best available information on administrative units for all the countries in the world, HydroLakes and HydroRivers are databases with global representation of aquatic environments widely recognized.
The databases were selected based on the recognition in the scientific community.
The datasets were directly downloaded from the corresponding repositories.
The study has global coverage with a geographic representation of 180 country/regions with multi temporal resolution at five years The study differentiates between urban and rural areas within a country/region and types of of MSW management by by MSW fraction.The spatial data is is represented by by main river with a classical stream order higher than three and lakes > 50km2 Rivers with a classical stream order lower than three and lakes with an an area smaller than 50 50 km2 All data generated during this study is is available at at GAINS country/regional level, including urban and rural areas, MSW fractions (i.e., food, paper, plastic, glass, metal, etc), and Scenario.All attempts at at replication of of data were successful.This is is not relevant to to our study This is is not relevant to to our study materials, systems and methodsWe We require information from authors about some types of of materials, experimental systems and methods used in in many studies.Here, indicate whether each material, system or or method listed is is relevant to to your study.If If you are not sure if if a list item applies to to your research, read the appropriate section before selecting a response.
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